Pfizer will stop production of consumer health care products in Virginia and New York while expanding its consumer product operations in Puerto Rico in a realignment of its manufacturing network.

The firm said May 18 that to cut costs as it takes on Wyeth, it will halt operations at eight manufacturing sites in Ireland, Puerto Rico and the U.S. by the end of 2015 and plans to reduce activities at six others in those markets as well as in Germany and the U.K. By the end of 2012, Pfizer expects savings of $4 billion to $5 billion from restructuring.

Pfizer also plans to phase out conventional solid-dose manufacturing at Guayama, P.R., but will expand its Consumer Healthcare operations there.

While consumer product manufacturing will stop at Pfizer's plants in Richmond, Va., and Pearl River, N.Y., the Virginia facility will remain headquarters for consumer health research and development.

Pfizer makes these changes after returning to the consumer product and nutritionals markets with its acquisition of Wyeth, which brought brands including Advil pain relievers, Centrum multivitamins and Robitussin cough/cold products.

The changes also come after CEO Jeff Kindler said the firm will give consumer health and other components of the firm's Diversified Businesses unit - Nutritional, Animal Health and the Capsugel delivery technology - an opportunity to grow (¹ Also see "Pfizer Plans To Give Diversified Businesses Time To Grow" - Pink Sheet, 26 October, 2009.).

The firm conducted a six-month evaluation of sites that manufacture injectables, conventional pills, biotechnology medicines and consumer health products. "In the case of aseptics, solids and consumer health care, we have significantly more capacity than we need," Pfizer said.

"The recommended changes will improve manufacturing efficiency and effectiveness and reduce costs by eliminating excess capacity and better aligning production with product demand," a Pfizer spokesman said in an e-mail.

R&D Not Touched This Time

This round of changes will eliminate about 6,000 jobs, or 18 percent of the firm's global workforce at its 78 manufacturing plants within the next five years, Pfizer said.

Unlike earlier announcements tied to Pfizer's push to absorb Wyeth, however, this time R&D jobs are unaffected. Since the close of Pfizer's mega-merger in October 2009, the outfit's combined workforce has been cut from 120,700 to 116,500.

In November, Pfizer said it would cut its R&D staff by 15 percent, with plans to consolidate those activities into five main hubs by 2011: Groton, Conn.; Pearl River, N.Y.; La Jolla, Calif.; Cambridge, Mass.; and Sandwich, U.K.

Changes May Hit Diversified Businesses Again

More restructuring announcements are on the way, with Diversified Businesses components possibly affected. The firm is assessing its animal health manufacturing sites, with announcements expected by the end of June, and beginning later this year expects to evaluate its nutrition facilities.

To some extent, the manufacturing site changes reflects the firm's changing product portfolio as it prepares for 2011, when its top-selling Lipitor (atorvastatin) goes off patent.

Pfizer likely will not have enough revenues from new products to make up for losses to sales of generics of the anti-cholesterol drug, which had 2009 sales of $11.4 billion.

The closings also affected biotech and vaccine plants in Pearl River and Shanbally, Ireland, even though those product sectors are significant growth drivers. Three other locations - Sanford, N.C.; Andover, Mass.; and Havant, U.K. - are slated for reductions.

Pfizer's biotechnology network will consist of sites in Grange Castle, Ireland; Strangnas, Sweden; Algete, Spain; Havant, U.K.; and in the U.S. at Andover and Sanford. Pearl River remains the site of its Center of Excellence for Vaccine Research and Development.

Meanwhile, Pfizer will stop operations at three sites that manufacture tablets and capsules: Caguas, P.R., Loughbeg, Ireland, and Rouses Point, N.Y. The firm is bowing out of facilities that make sterile injectables in Dublin, Ireland, and Carolina, P.R. Reductions also are planned at solid-dose facilities in Illertissen, Germany, and Newbridge, Ireland.

- Carlene Olsen ( ² c.olsen@elsevier.com )

Pfizer Exits Eight Manufacturing Sites And Slices Jobs In Six More

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